Round 2 of 15 · Rio de Janeiro · 29 March 1981, Sunday
Brazilian Grand Prix
Key highlights
Piquet
pole position
62
laps
13
finishers out of 24
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time / Gap | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams | 2:00:23.66 | 9 |
| 2 | Alan Jones | Williams | +4.44 | 6 |
| 3 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | +1:03.08 | 4 |
| 4 | Marc Surer | Ensign | +1:17.03 | 3 |
| 5 | Elio de Angelis | Team Lotus | +1:26.42 | 2 |
| 6 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | +1:26.83 | 1 |
| 7 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Ligier | +1:30.25 | |
| 8 | John Watson | McLaren | +1 Lap | |
| 9 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi | +1 Lap | |
| 10 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore | +1 Lap | |
| 11 | Nigel Mansell | Team Lotus | +1 Lap | |
| 12 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | +2 Laps | |
| 13 | Ricardo Zunino | Tyrrell | +5 Laps | |
| NC | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell | Not classified | |
| NC | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | Not classified | |
| DNF | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | Turbo | |
| DNF | Hector Rebaque | Brabham | Spun off | |
| DNF | Alain Prost | Renault | Collision | |
| DNF | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows | Accident | |
| DNF | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | Collision | |
| DNF | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren | Engine | |
| DNF | René Arnoux | Renault | Collision | |
| DNF | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | Collision | |
| DNF | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi | Collision | |
| DNQ | Jan Lammers | ATS | Did not qualify | |
| DNQ | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella | Did not qualify | |
| DNQ | Miguel Ángel Guerra | Osella | Did not qualify | |
| DNQ | Eliseo Salazar | Osella | Did not qualify | |
| DNQ | Derek Daly | March | Did not qualify | |
| WD | Ricardo Londoño | Ensign | Withdrew |
- DNF
- Did not finish
- NC
- Not classified
- DNQ
- Did not qualify
- WD
- Withdrew